Wife of missing Kenyan trader narrates abduction ordeal in Tanzania

DAR ES SALAAM, Veronica Kundya, the wife of a Kenyan businessman, Mr Raphael Ongangi, who was reported missing in Dar es Salaam says she fears for her safety and that of the family following his abduction.

Ms Kundya has appealed to police to help find her husband who was taken away by unknown gunmen on Monday night as they drove home after visiting their children in school.

In an interview with The Citizen, she said she was with Mr Ongangi when the assailants accosted them and drove away with the businessman.

She said she has recorded a statement with the Oysterbay Police Station.

Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander Lazaro Mambosasa on Wednesday, June 26, 2019, told The Citizen in a telephone interview that he was not aware of the incident.

Ms Kundya has described the incident as shocking and frightening, saying that she will not be safe as long as her husband’s whereabouts remain unknown.

She urged the security organs to intensify their efforts to locate him.

ABDUCTION REPORTS

Mr Ongangi who runs a cargo logistics business, was abducted at about 9.30pm on Monday, June 24, 2019.

Ms Kundya said that she reported the incident at the Oysterbay police post the same night the incident happened. She was at the same station on Wednesday for a follow up.

Kenya’s High Commissioner to Dar es Salaam, Mr Dan Kazungu, was on Wednesday quoted by the Standard of Kenya as confirming that they have received the reports of the missing trader and were working with Tanzanian authorities to find him.

According to Ms Kundya’s, unknown gunmen cornered the couple at the intersection of Karume and Msasani road in the upmarket neighbourhood of Oysterbay, right next to the Ugandan High Commission.

She said three men who claimed to be security officers and brandishing guns forced her to the back seat of the car and drove them to Safari beach near Msasani fish market.

CCTV cameras show three cars, two motorbikes and more men arriving along with the couples’ Land Rover Discovery Sport.

They then moved Ongangi to another car and left, leaving her waiting in the family’s vehicle, she narrated.

“They left me with instructions to wait for further information, and about an hour later, I received a call from my husband with instructions that I should go home and not report the incident anywhere,” said the mother of two.

After that, Veronica said that she drove straight to her home in Kinondoni to see if anyone went there.

After assuring herself that no one did, she drove to Oysterbay police to report the incident. She then also reported the case to Kenyan High Commission.

TRANSPORT BUSINESS

The Kenyan runs a transportation business between the port of Dar es Salaam and neighbouring countries of DR Congo, Zambia and Rwanda.

His wife says she does not know the motive behind her husband’s abduction.

“My husband is not a big businessman that you may assume that he might have been involved in unscrupulous deals nor does he have a record of quarrelling with anyone over anything. He is not involved in politics or anything that you may say attracted adversaries,” Ms Kundya said.

She said the gunmen looked very calm and not like people who were acting in a hurry.

“At one point one of them was rolling a pistol directed at my head. I asked him why he was doing it and he stopped.”

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